Package inverting machine



April 13, 1943.

J. s. 'COWL 2,316,407

PACKAGE INVERTING MACHINE Filed July 23, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet l GttornegApril 3- J. s. COWL PACKAGE INVERTING MACHINE Filed July 23, 1942 :sSheets-Sheet 2 (Itto'meg Patented Apr. 13, 1943 3' UNHTED STAT PEN?FFICE I PACKAGE INVERTING MACHINE John S. Cowl, Swoope, Va. ApplicationJuly 23, 1942, Serial No. 452,097

, (Cl. 214-1) b I 12 Claims.

The invention relates to package inverting machines of the type whereinfruit baskets are fed into the machine in an upside down position with aform in the open end of the basket and the haskets are turned right sideup and discharged from the machine.

A further object is to provide a basket inverting machine comprising anoscillating frame into which the baskets are intermittently fed, and toutilize the weight of the basket for rotating the frame against theaction of a counterweight and utilizing the counterweight for partiallyrotating the gripping frame to initial position for the reception of thenext basket to be inserted.

A further object is to provide a basket engaging bail, counterweighted,and having a link connection to a gripping member slidably mounted onthe frame and forming means whereby the basket is gripped and latched inthe rotatable frame when the basket is forced therein and the gravity ofthe basket utilized for the invertin operation.

A further object is to provide the frame of the machine with gearsegments with which pinions carried by the inverting carriage mesh, andon which said pinions travel and rotate downwardly against the action ofa counterweighted lever having a gear segment meshing with the oppositesides of the pinions.

' A further object is to provide sufiicient counterweights to thecounterweight levers to return the rotatable carriage to normal positionafter each basket is inverted and discharged from the carriage.

.against the basket when the carriage is rotated and traverseddownwardly and to control the movement of the gripping frame andlatching means by a basket engaging member when the basket is forcedinto the carriage.

A further object is to provide an operating bail having a counterweightlatching arm for latching the gripping frame in outer position as it isreturned to initial basket receiving position and the gravity latchingarm and bail restored to normal initial position when the carriage isreturned to basket receiving position.

With the above and other objects in view the invention resides in thecombination and arrangement of part as hereinafter set forth, I shown inthe drawings, described and claimed, it

being understood that changes in the precise em- "bodiment of theinvention may be made within the scope of what is claimed withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. I I

In the drawings: I Figure l is a side elevation of the machine showingthe parts in position to receive a basket to be inverted. I

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the machine. I

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 3--3 of Figure 1.I I

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view through the invertingcarriage and part of "the frame of the machine. I I

Figure 5 is a detail perspective view of one side of the carriage,showing the bail in position to be engaged by a basket for forcing thgripping frame downwardly to be latched in gripping position. I I I IFigure 6 shows the frame rotatedninety degrees in basket grippingposition; I

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view through the carriage showing thesame rotated one hundred and eightydegrees to the'basket dischargeposition. I

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 9 showing the return or reverserotation of the carriage with the counterweighted latch carried by thebail in latched position for holding the gripping frame outwardly so thebasket can be received within the carriage when the carriage assumes itsnormal position as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9 is a vertical transverse sectional view through the carriageshowing the parts in initial position for receiving a basket.

Figure 10 is a side elevationof the upper end of the carriage showingthe gripping-frame latching means in position to hold the gripping frameinwardly when said frame i pulled downwardly by the basket engagingbail.

Figure 11 is a View similar to Figure 10 but showing the carriagerotated downwardly ninet degrees and the gripping frame latched. 1

Figure 12 is a View similar to FigurelO but showing the latching meansreleased at the point of basket discharge.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I designates spaced angle barssupported on legs 2- and forming the main stationary frame of themachine. Rotatably mounted between the spaced bars I are rollers 3 whichsupport the basket 4 in its inverted position with the facer platetherein, and said basket is adapted to be manually forced into therotatable carriage 5, which car riage is adapted to grip and hold thebasket and to simultaneously rotate substantially one hundred and eightydegrees in the direction of the arrow a, and bodily move downwardly ortraverse as' far as its axis is concerned to a discharge position asshown in Figure 7 for releasing the basket and allowing the sarneto bedischarged onto the rollers B of the table 1. The carriage 5 comprisesspaced bars 8 at opposite sides thereof, to the outer sides of which aresecured plates 9, having stub shafts I on which are secured gears ll sothat whene the gears H are rotated said carriage will be rotatedtherewith. Extending upwardly from the forward end of the spaced bars Iare stationary gear segments [2, with which the gears ll mesh, thereforeit will be seen that when the carriage is rotated in the direction ofthe arrow a, Figure 1, or in a reverse direction, the carriage as awhole will be rotated and simultaneously bodily moved downwardly orupwardly.

The carriage is normally maintained in the raised position, as shown inFigure 1, when unloaded, by means of counterweighted levers 13, whichlevers are pivotally connected at [4 to the spaced bars I and a delicateadjustment is obtained by means of a weight receiving receptacle IS inwhich weights may be placed. The ends of the levers I3 terminate in gearsegments l which mesh with the gears ll opposite the stationary gearsegments 12, therefore it will be seen that when the basket 4 is forcedonto the lower roller frame I6 of the carriage to past center positionas shown in dotted lines in Figure '6, the off-center weight of thebasket will overcome the gravity of the counterweight l5, therebyrotating the gears ll so they will move downwardly on the stationarygear segments l2 and simultaneously rotate the carriage until themovable frame I! of the carriage assumes various positions from thatshown in Figure 6 to the discharge position shown in Figure 7. As soonas the basket is discharged the counterweight l5 will cause the gears II to travel upwardly on the stationary gear segments I2 for againreturning the carriage to initial raised position as shown in Figure 1with the gripping frame I! at its upper side and latched in raisedposition by means hereinafter set forth.

The spaced bars 5 are anchored at 18 to the stationary frame [6 andpreferably connected together at their upper end as at 19. The grippingframe I! is provided with guide blocks 20, slidably mounted between thespaced bars 8, and adapted to" move downwardly for moving the grippingframe l1 into gripping engagement with the -bot tom l9 of the basket forholding the basket during the inverting operation.

Pivotally connected at 2| to one of the bars 8 are upwardly extendinglinks 22, which links are in turn pivotally connected at 23 to links 24having their ends pivoted at 25 to the slidable blocks 20. Thismechanism is duplicated on both sides of the carriage as shown in Figure4.

When the carriage is in the position shown in Figure l for the receptionof a basket, the pivotal point 23 is on the feed side of the machine andout of alinement with a line drawn through-pivotal points 2| and 25 andis limited in its movement by means of a stop pin 26, all of which isclearly shown in Figure 9. Also pivotally mounted on the pivotal point23 is acounterweighted basket engaging loop 21, the arms of whichterminate in counterweights 28 having latching notches 29, the purposeof which will presently appear.

The counterweightsnormally maintain the loop 21 in raised position asshown in Figures .1 and 2. When the basket 4 is forced onto the carriageit engages the loop 2'! and the loop rides downwardly on the basket andpulls the pivotal point 23, connecting the links 22 and 24, through andbeyond a line drawn between pivotal points 2| and 25 and this movementis limited by stop pin 30. It will be noted that the links have agreater amount of movement in this direction than in the direction ofthe feed side of the carriage. During this movement the gripping frameI! is pulled downwardly into gripping engagement with the bottom end I9of the basket and as the center of gravity of the basket has passedbeyond the center of the carriage the weight of the basket will causethe gears II to rotate on the stationary gear segments [2 and thecarriage as a whole will move downwardly and simultaneously rotate.

The gripping frame I1, as it is pulled downwardly by the loop 21, isheld against outward movement by a pivoted latch 31 at each side of thecarriage, and these latches are provided with spaced teeth 32 which hookover the pins 33 carried by the gripping frame. It is to be understoodthat these latches 3| are gravity actuated and swing within loops 34 atopposite sides of the frame. As the carriage is rotated and traverseddownwardly, it first assumes the position shown in Figure 6, at whichtime it is rotating in the direction of the arrow b. The carriagecontinues its rotation in the direction of the arrow b until itapproaches the position shown in Figure 7, and the latches 3t engagestop pins 35 carried by the frame bars I and is unlatched, and at whichtime the gripping frame I! drops downwardly, thereby releasing thebasket after the inverting operation. This operation is facilitated bythe engagement of the jarring pins 36 carried by the frame 1 of thetable, and which pins are in the path of the pins 31 carried by thecarriage. It has been found that the jarring action at the dischargeposition, shown in Figure 7, causes the loop 21 to force the basketoutwardly towards the table 1 incident to the rebound of the basket awayfrom the loop at the time of sudden stoppage of the rotation of thecarriage. When the loop is released at the point of discharge, as shownin Figure 7, the counterweight arm 28 swings downwardly to the dottedline position shown in Figure 7 and the latching pins 38 are received inthe notches 29 of the counterweight arms 28. Therefore the grippingframe [1 is held in extended position for the return upward rotation inthe direction of the arrow 0, Figure 8. When the carriage again assumesthe position shown in Figure 9, the counterweight 28 is in a position toswing out of latching engagement with the pins 38 for again raising theloop 27. The latter part of the movement of the links in the lastmentioned operation is facilitated by a further jarring operation, andthis is accomplished by means of lugs 40 carried by the opposite end ofthe carriage from the latching members 3 I, and which lugs are in thepath of stop lugs 4| carried by the frame side I. It will be seen thatthe latches 3| only operate on the down stroke of the carriage and theyare inoperative but gravity actuated on the up movement, and on the upmovement of the carriage that the gripping frame is latched and out ofposition solely by the counterweighted latching arms 28 cooperating withthe lugs 38. It will also be noted that the last jar- ,ring operationjars the linkage across center from .the position shown in Figure -8 tothe position shown in Figure .9 incident to the sudden stoppage of thecarriage, momentum of the counterweights, and final downward movement ofthe counterweights.

It has been found that a machine constructed .as above set forth willautomatically invert and discharge baskets as they are fed into therotatable carriage and that the counterweighting means will return allof the parts to initial position without the use of motors, springs orthe like.

The invention having been set forth what is claimed as new and usefulis:

1. A basket inverting machine comprising a frame, a rotatable carriagefor receiving and inverting a basket, said carriage having gears atopposite sides thereof, said gears meshing with stationary elongatedgear members carried by the frame and counterweighted gear memberspivoted to the frame and cooperating with the gears of the carriage forsimultaneously rotating said carriage and traversing said carriage onthe stationary gear members.

2. A basket inverting machine comprising a frame, a rotatable upwardlyand downwardly movable traversing carriage, means for moving saidcarriage, said means comprising gears carried by opposite sides of thecarriage, gear segments carried by the frame and meshing with thecarriage gears, counterweighted levers carried by the frame, and gearsegments carried by the counterweighted levers and meshing with thegears of the carriage on opposite sides of the gear segments carried bythe frame.

3. A device as set forth in claim 2 comprising an upper gripping frameslidably connected to the carriage and adapted to grip a basket andmeans controlled by the basket when placed in the carriage for forcingsaid gripping frame against the basket and positively gripping saidbasket during the rotation of the carriage to an inverted dischargeposition.

4. A device as set forth in claim 2 wherein the carriage comprises alower stationary frame, an upper slidable gripping frame, double linkconnections between the slidable gripping frame and the carriage, theadjacent ends of the links of the link connection being pivoted togetherand floatable through a line drawn between the outer ends of the linksand adapted to swing to opposite sides of said line according to therotative position of the carriage for gripping the container orreleasing the same, a basket engaging loop pivoted to the linkconnection, a counterweight carried by said loop and adapted to maintainthe same raised until forced downwardly by the placing of the basket inthe carriage, latching means for holding the slidable frame inengagement with the basket on the down rotation of the carriage, saidcounterweight having means whereby a latch connection is made with thecarriage during the upward rotation of the carriage.

5. The combination with a rotatable basket inverting carriage, saidcarriage having a stationary frame for engaging one end of a basket, aslidable gripping frame for engaging and gripping the other end of thebasket, of means for gripping said basket and releasing the same after apartial rotation of the frame, said mean comprising a double linkconnection between the slidable gripping member and the frame, theadjacent ends of the links of the double link connection being pivotedtogether at a point adapted to bisect a straight line between thepivotal points at the outer ends of the link connecion, latching meansfor holding the slidable frame in gripping position during downwardmovement of the carriage, a basket engaging loop pivoted on said doublelink connection and floatable therewith, a

counterweight carried by said loop for normally maintaining the loopraised, a latching element carried by the counterweight, a latchingelement carried by the carriage, said latching elements being positionedwhereby they will interengage upon the initial upward rotation of theupper end of the carriage, said latching element forming means forholding the gripping frame in outer position when the slidable grippingframe is in lowered position and is returning to the basket receivingposition.

6. A device as set forth in claim 5 wherein the sides of the carriageare formed from spaced bars, said spaced bars forming guide ways for theslidable gripping frame.

7. A device as set forth in claim 5 including stop members on oppositesides of the link connections for limiting the freedom of movement ofthe inner ends of its links.

8. A device as set forth in claim 5 including spaced bars carried byopposite sides of the lower frame, said slidable gripping frame beingslidably mounted between said spaced bars, one end of the double linkconnection being anchored to one of said spaced bars, gears carried bysaid spaced bars and means cooperating with said gears for impartingpartial rotation in opposite directions to said carriage from a basketreceiving position to an inverted basket discharging position.

9. A device as set forth in claim 2 wherein the carriage comprises alower stationary frame, an upper sliding gripping frame, latching meansfor holding said slidable gripping frame in engagement with the basketupon the downward rotation of the carriage and for releasing the same atthe bottom of the rotation and latching means carried by the carriagefor holding the gripping frame in extending position when the carriageis rotated upwardly from discharge position to initial basket receivingposition.

10. A basket inverting machine comprising a stationary frame, arotatable basket gripping carriage carried by said frame and movableupwardly and downwardly and rotatable on a transverse axis, pivotedoperating levers carried by the frame, said levers terminating in rackbars to one side of the axis of the carriage, gears carried by saidcarriage on its axis and meshing with said rack bars, stationary rackbars carried by the frame and meshing with the carriage gears oppositethe first mentioned rack bars, said rack bars and gears forming meanswhereby said carriage may be moved downwardly and upwardly andsimultaneously rotated from a basket receiving position to a basketdischarge position, and vice versa.

11. A device as set forth in claim 10 including means carried bythecarriage whereby the basket may be placed in an off-center position toone side of the axis thereof, counterweight means carried by the lever,said off-center positioning of the basket forming means whereby thecarriage will be rotated in one direction against the counterweightmeans incident to the weight of the basket.

12. A device as set forth in claim 10 including means cooperating withthe levers for returning said levers and the carriage to initial loadingposition when the basket is discharged therefrom at the dischargeposition.

JOHN S. COWL.

